Improvement in apparatus for feeding mills



J. M. CLARK.

Feed Regulator for Mills.

Patented .Ian. 28, 1862.

. lnveniar UNITED STATES,

PATENT JAMES M. CLARK, OE LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR FEEDING MILLS.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES M. CLARK, of Lancaster, in the county ofLancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Apparatus for Feeding Mills; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had, to

the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon.

Inthe annexed drawings, making part of this specification, A representsthe fioor or husk upon which the lower stone B is secured.

C represents the upper stone or runner.

E is the rine secured to the upper stone and which sustains it.

D represents the spindle, the point of which enters an opening or socketin the under side of the rine. The stone and rine rest upon this spindlein the usual way and revolve upon it.

E represents a cup, which is secured to the rine E by means of a strapa, to which it is attached. The strap a is provided with a screw, whichis attached to it at its center, and which stands in a verticalposition. This screw passes through an opening in the bottom of the cup,and a nut passes over said screw to secure the cup to the strap andscrew. The bottom of the cup has the hole through which the screw passesmade sufficiently large to enable it to be adjusted to one side or theother, so that it may be made to run perfectly true at all times.

0 0 represent two clips, by means of which the strap a is secured to therine. This clip consists of a bent screw, a straight screw with a nut inits lower end, and a cross-piece u, as shown in Figure 3.

t' 'L' are nuts, which pass over the two screws for confining thecross-piece u down. This clip is adjustable, as seen by the arrangementof its parts, so that it can be made to secure the strap a todifferent-sized rines.

H represents a tube, which connects with the hopper by means of a glasstube I. The tube I fits in the tube H, and the tube I-I slides over itwhen it is moved.

K represents a lever, which has its fulcrum on the metallic standard L.The inner end of this lever K is connected to the tube H by a pivot, soas to allow the tube to move up or down in a vertical position when thelever is moved.

M represents a screw-rod, one end of which is pivoted to the lever K,while the other end passes through a hand-wheel and bracket. Thehand-wheel is connected to the bracket, and when said wheel is turned itcauses the screw-rod to rise or fall, and thus change the position ofthe lever and tube H. The bottom of the tube H stands immediately overthe center of the cup F, and the grain when it passes down from thehopper through the tubes I and A falls into the cup before going to thestones. The cup revolves with the stone, and when it becomes full ofgrain the centrifugal action throws the grain off against the shield G,from which it drops regularly into the eye of the stone to be ground.The shield Gis stationary,and is connected to the tube H by means ofsuitable arms for that purpose, or to the stationary guide-bar WV.

Still-feeds have been used before in which a fiat or convex plate wasused at the bottom of the tube, upon which the grain fell; but thisarrangement will not answer, because the tube must be made so small orconfined so close to the plate that it is very liable to choke withstrings or husks, or any other impurity in the grain.

In the case of my cup the tube may be raised high enough to effectuallyprevent choking, and that, too, without endangering to an excess offeed. The still, even motion of the cup distributes the grain withwonderful accuracy and regularityto the stones. Hence I am enabled tomake a better and larger yield in a given space of time with givenpower.

The standard L is made of metal and is provided with slots through whichthe screws 19 p pass to secure it in position. Z represents a piece ofwood, which is bolted to the hoop. The standard L is then secured tothis piece of wood by means of the set-screws p p. Thestandard can beadjusted vertically by means of the slots and set-screws, so as toadjust it to different mills. The object in having this standard is tohave a firm and solid fulcrum for the lever K. If the fulcrum of thelever rested upon the top of the hoop, it would be constantlyvaryingwith the vibrations of said screw, &c.

hoop, and the tube H could not consequently be kept at one feed, and Iwould be subject to all of the disadvantages of irregular feeding. Thehand-wheel N has a hub e, and on the lower end of the hub is a rim 3.This rim .9 passes into a dovetail in the bracket 0, where it is held inproper position and allowed to revolve whenever it is necessary to movethe The rim 8 may be prevented from coming out of the bracket in anydesirable way.

Too much stress cannot be laid on the regularity with which thisapparatus feeds. It is evident that with this cup the space between thebottom of the tube and the bottom of the cup may be made greater thanthe diameter of the tube, so that anything which passes down the tubemust pass out through the cup, and cannot possibly choke it.

The shield G is made stationary, as has before been observed, so thatwhen the grain strikes against it it-will fall regularly into the eye orthe stone. Revolving shields have been used, but they do not answer agood purpose. 7

I am aware of the claims of Edwin Clark to certain devices in anapplication now pending fora still-feed. Hence I disclaim everythingclaimed at the present time by the said Edwin Clark, confining myselfstrictly to the devices claimed hereinafter by me.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. Theemployment of the revolving cup F, when adjustable, substantially as andfor the purpose specified.

2. The arrangement of the cup F, the strap a, and rine E, secured andconnected by means of clips 0 c, substantially as represented.

3. The employment of the stationary shield G used as and for the purposespecified.

JAMES M. CLARK. Witnesses:

O. M. ALEXANDER, M. M. Dow.

